Angels closer Madson not shooting for opening day

TEMPE, Ariz. - An MRI Tuesday on Ryan Madson's right elbow came back negative, but the man the Angels hoped to be their opening-day closer won't be their closer on opening day.

That's the way it appears for now, at least. Madson, who missed all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, is still dealing with soreness in the elbow. Opening day is April 1 in Cincinnati and there's no target date for Madson's return.

In a way, he sees that as a relief.

"Now, yes, especially because that's what I was going towards," he said. "Maybe it got me into a little bit of trouble. Now I don't have a set date in mind. I want to let my arm guide me. The trainers are good in there, already did a lot of good work this morning. It feels good."

Madson won't be throwing while doing a strengthening program for the next week, then he will be re-evaluated.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia said the MRI results show the injury is "definitely manageable." But without Madson anchoring the ninth inning, it remains to be seen how the bullpen roles will sort out on April 1.

"I think our bullpen depth is improved with or without Ryan," Scioscia said. "I think that if you look at (Sean) Burnett, you look at the evolution of (Kevin) Jepsen, you look at (Scott) Downs, you look at (Ernesto) Frieri, there's depth there. Ryan's a guy that can solidify some roles down there and we look forward to that. I think from Day 1 we should in a position to be able to hold leads better than we did last year. We expect Ryan to eventually be a part of that."

Notable

Right-hander Chad Cordero signed a minor-league contract with the Angels on Wednesday. The Chino native and former Cal State Fullerton standout hasn't pitched in the majors since 2010 and hasn't pitched anywhere since a stint with the St. Paul Saints of the independent American Association in 2011.